The World returns to you
by Tenthlttr
Summary: Neku has returned to the RG, but a trial much, much worse than the Reaper's game meets him there. NekuXShiki. Completed.
1. Chapter 1

**The world returns to you**

Xxx Author's note xxxxxxx

This is my first fic, so I really need the constructive criticism you guys are famous for. So come on, I can take it… I think…

Also, I'd like to thank all the other authors, particularly Plushietiger and Silver Crescent. Thanks, guys, for inspiring me to write this fic in the first place.

XXXX Disclaimer XXXXX

I do not own The world ends with you, though I do have the game. :)

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_I found myself sprawled onto the scramble for the fourth time The crowded streets were as imposing as ever. I stood shakily, realizing what had happened. I felt tears well up in my eyes._

"_Why? Why!?! What the HELL!?!"_

_Suddenly, I realized. People were crowding around me, staring. My eyes widened. They could __see __me! I let the tears flow freely for the first time in my life. I was making a scene, but I didn't care. I was ALIVE!_

I walked over to Hachiko, my ears feeling the cold for the first time in a while. The statue of the Grand dog was as huge as ever. I instinctively found myself wary, searching the statue for any signs of Noise. Old habits die hard, I guess. As I came near the statue, I started to worry.

_Was this all just a dream? Do my friends exist? What if-_

"Yo, Neku, over here!"

I started. Leaning next to the grand statue were Beat and Rhyme. I almost cried then and there, until I caught myself.

_Damn emotions_.

Beat ran up to me and subjected me to an intense noogie, while Rhyme giggled as I struggled to free myself, but eventually grew stern.

"Beat, is this any way to treat your friends?"

Beat dropped me reluctantly. "Sorry, Rhyme."

I returned my hair to its spiky state and glared at Beat.

"You should be apologizing to me, _Daisukenojo."_

Beat growled and Rhyme giggled.

"Yo, who said you could call me that, Pho-" He seemed to notice something for the first time. "Hey, man, where'd your headphones go?"  
My lips curled into a small smile. "I ditched them."

Beat stared at me, his mouth gaping. After a few moments he grinned and held out his hand. "'Bout time, Pho- I mean, Neku!"

Rhyme smiled. "Good job, Neku! Like they say, the best person to be is yourself!"

Beat smiled at her, and I could see his love for her in the smile. "How do you do that, Rhyme?"

Suddenly I felt something missing. "Where's Shiki?"

Beat shrugged. "Beats me!" he exclaimed, grinning.

I stared at him, trying not to laugh at his intentionally lame pun.

Rhyme elbowed him in the ribs, holding in a chuckle.

"I'm over here," came an uncertain voice.

We all turned around to see a girl waving uncertainly at us.

"Shiki?" we all exclaimed.

I had completely forgotten about Shiki's new form. She looked completely different, but not altogether worse. Her pale chocolate hair flowed down to her neck, and her wiry glasses showed off her beautiful lavender eyes. She wore a simple outfit, a jacket and jeans that she probably made herself. Altogether, she was downright pretty.

_Gah! What am I thinking? It's not like I _like _her or anything… do I?_

One thing was for sure, though, if I had a relationship with anyone, it'd have to be Shiki. Not only because we had literally been through hell together, and that I knew her darkest secrets as well as she knew mine, but because there was a certain spark about her, a spark that I knew no appearance could decide.

"Umm… Neku?"

I realized that I had been staring at Shiki for a full minute as she squirmed under my eyes. I shook my head and shrugged. Beat and Rhyme were staring at us with bemused eyes.

"Sorry, I just zoned out."

I then realized that Shiki's eyes were watering, as if she were holding back tears.

"This is me, guys. The _actual _me." She stared at her shoes. "If you don't want to be friends, then I'll-"

In a flash, I realized that she had taken my stare completely the wrong way.

"Are you kidding? You're beautif-"

I paled as I realized what I had said. Beat and Rhyme started sniggering, and Shiki looked up and blushed. I felt the blood return to my face, and I turned as red as Shiki.

I looked away. I felt Beat and Rhyme's eyes on the back of my head.

Rhyme clapped her hands. "Sorry, guys, I forgot! Beat and I have to… um… go back home!"

Beat wrinkled his nose "Aw, come on, Rhyme! Whaddaya mean we have ta-"

Rhyme nudged him with her elbow and subtly looked at us.

Beat suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, Yeah! We gotta go home, and, uh…." Beat began to mutter, and Rhyme pulled him away, smirking at us.

And I was left in the most awkward situation in the universe.

And that's it for the first chapter. Don't worry, I plan to make more, but I need some Reviews or even words. Anything to show that someone cares about this fic.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

XXXX Author's Note XXXX

Well, here's the chapter! Huge thanx to the three first reviewers, and anyone else reading this fic.

To Kisdota- The Freak Gamer- Thanks for the advice, man. I need all the tips I can get. Also, the reason the characters are slightly different is that I pictured a Neku with his emotional barriers somewhat down after the Game, and the actual Shiki, not the happy, bubbly Eri clone. Thanks for noticing, though.

To Sgt. Red- Yeah, my dialogue's pretty crappy as it is. I'd appreciate some help on that part.

To PMiller1: Thanks for caring, man! You know, I didn't think anyone would read or care about this fic,

let alone review it!

You guys are the reason I didn't give up on this fic! Keep it up!

P.S. This chapter will be in Neku's point of view, again. I was thinking of cycling the part of narrator between the characters. Please feedback on this idea!

Well, here we go…

I turned back to Shiki, who was still blushing madly, her glasses still slightly misted from her tears. I cleared my throat and turned away, fighting the blush working up towards my exposed ears. I didn't know what was happening. Before I died, I didn't give a shit about anyone else. I didn't' _get _people, and I didn't think I ever would. Somewhere along the course of the game, I made the supreme mistake of opening up. Ugh. That Shiki got to me. Her happy, preppy attitude forced my mental barriers into submission. Hell, she even became my entry fee! I was still mentally beating myself up for that one. Couldn't they have just taken my headphones, or even my memories again? There's no way that Shiki could have become the most important part of my world! And yet… There was something about her…

_GOD! _I cursed to myself. _Give me the Reaper's game any day._

Shiki ran up to me, shouting, "NEKU!!! Wait up!!!"

I realized that I had instinctively started walking away, leaving Shiki in the dust. _Just like old times_. I turned to Shiki, still catching her breath. Her cheeks were still tinged pink, and I didn't think it was from the exertion, either. I stopped and saw that we were in the scramble, the exact same place I woke up every day for the past 3 weeks.

"It's familiar, isn't it?" Shiki was next to me, her face slightly sad.

"It's _too_ familiar," I replied, shuddering inwardly.

I felt the awkward silence rise up again, and we just stood for a while, looking at our former resting place.

"Did you mean it?" Shiki blurted out, blushing again.

"Mean what?" I groaned inwardly. What else could she mean?

Shiki's face was tomato red, I was struggling to keep mine normal. "When you said I was B- Beau-"

I sighed. "So, anyways, have you and Eri gotten back together?"

That caught her off guard. "Well, yeah, actually! She was really surprised to find me, you know, alive, but I told the truth and she actually believed it! Anyways, we're creating a cool two-piece outfit that will really go together with… "

I closed my eyes and listened to Shiki jabber on about thread colors, different clothing styles, et cetera. This was so complicated, but so easy. I realized that I could do this forever, basking in the companionship of my first and truest friend.

I suddenly heard sniggering behind us. Shiki and I turned and saw Beat and Rhyme laughing their heads off. "'Bout time!" Beat said, laughing, as Rhyme started to ask "So, have you guys kissed yet?"

Shiki blushed, I paled. Beat and Rhyme had progressed to singing, "Neku and Shiki, sitting in a tree…"  
I slowly walked towards them, rolling up my sleeves. "If you guys thought that pins were my only attacks, you were _DEAD WRONG._

Beat paled and ran away with Rhyme, leaving us alone yet again.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

Shiki thought. "Oh, hey! The new Tin Pin Genesis movie just came out! You wanna watch it?"

I thought back to the brief period of time in the UG when I was a Tin Pin fanatic. "Sure", I replied.

XXXX At the movie theater XXXX

"Well, what snacks do you want, Shiki?"

Shiki was slightly startled. "You're paying?"

I smiled. "I cashed in all of my expensive pins before I headed to the Shibuya River."

Shiki looked at me in shock. In all the time I had been in the UG, I had never cashed in a single pin. She knew that if I had sold them all, I would have gotten at least 4 million yen.

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

Shiki was still stunned. I ordered some nachos and a soda, while Shiki got popcorn and gummy bears. We entered the theater.

As I watched the movie, I found that I couldn't really follow it. More important things had flooded my mind, the most unlikely being, _Shiki is right next to me, right there. If I reach my hand out and put it on the armrest she's using…_ At which point I'd shake myself out of it and try to focus on the movie. Then, I'd slowly get distracted by the slight change in the air when she shifted positions, the sound of her breathing (which I could amazingly hear over the movie), the smell of her hair wafting towards me. I had never experienced anything like this before, and, to be honest, I was scared.

An eternity later, the movie theater lights turned on, and we left the room. Shiki was ecstatic. "That was such an awesome movie, Right, Neku? Remember the part when…"

I didn't really pay attention to her words, I just listened to the music of her voice talking to me and nodded occasionally.

We had finally made it back to Ten-Four, and Shiki was still talking about the movie.

"…And at the end, where they all had that final showdown, wasn't that awesome?"

"Yeah, it was great!" My mouth was on auto-pilot.

We reached her house, and Shiki finally stopped jabbering on about the movie.

"Well, thanks for the d-, I mean thanks for the movie. Neku!" Shiki blushed as she almost said 'date'.

"Erm, yeah!" For some reason, I was embarrassed as well.

I then realized that we were a lot closer than we had been a second ago. My hands were at her waist, and hers were hanging loosely on my chest. We were in the infamous 'kissing position', as they say in the movies. I panicked and pulled away, stepping back--- right into a wall. I muttered some curses under my breath, rubbing the back of my head. Then, I realized fully what we were about to do. I blushed and turned away, running back to my home across the city. "Bye, Shiki!"

In the shadows, two people watched the entire scene unfold.

"Yo, so whadda we do now?" questioned one of them, his eyes nearly hidden under his black-and-white skull cap

The girl grinned, her bell pendant jangling in the breeze. "Initiate plan A, big brother."

And that's it!

I'm actually starting to like writing this fic, even though it's just my second day. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Please R&R, folks! I need all the advice I can get!

P.S. Whooaa!!! Even though I added a new chapter it still looks the same!!! How do I fix that!?!?! CHARLIE THE UNICORN 3!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Here it is guys!

BTW you never commented on the switching narrator so I'll do it anyways. This chapter will be mostly Neku, but a third person Shiki narrating a bit.

To Kisdota, PMiller, and Sgt. Red- Thanks for the support guys! I love your help… but (WARNING- EXTREMELY STUPID QUESTION AHEAD) what's a yaoi?

To Vixen's shadow- Thanks for the slightly confusing review! Do you, by any chance, have multiple personality disorder?

Alright, I'm going to turn up the- 'unintentional romance' meter for this next chapter. Please R like always!

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"Camping?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yeah! Since Fall just started, I thought we could do something together, just to commemorate our _friendship_." Rhyme explained, Beat nodding furiously by her side.

Something about the way she said 'friendship', and the way her eyes glinted as they glinted between Shiki and I, made me instantly wary. _What does she have planned?_

"Sure," I turned to Shiki shrugging.

"You, comin', too, Neku?" Beat still wasn't used to saying my actual name.

"Alright, if Shiki- if everyone else is going, too." I hoped no one caught my slip-up.

Rhyme stifled a giggle, but simply said, "Cool! We'll go tomorrow at 9:30, and come back at around 5 P.M. the next day? We'll supply the tents and portable cots; we've wanted to break those out for a while now.

"Alright, sounds good. We'll meet back here at 9 tomorrow." I was relieved, because I didn't have sleeping bags, cots, or anything portable.

Shiki nodded and we all left for our respective homes.

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At home, I had no idea what to wear. My normal clothes would probably be wrecked in the wild. I finally settled on some Mus Rattus clothes I was forced to buy in the UG. I thought back to that day.

_Flashback_

"_Yo, man, that's a pretty chintzy outfit," smiled the Reaper. "It suits you."_

_He dissipated and the wall did too. Joshua chuckled. "He said it suits you, Neku."_

_I growled. "I know what he said."_

_When I had free time after the mission I decided to make the clothes a little cooler. I bought some fabric stuff from the Cosmic Corner and set to work on the outfit. By the next day it was close to my definition of cool. I dyed the shirt purple and the windbreaker black, and wore holes in the jeans with a chunk of concrete. I ditched the flip-flops and bought some Tigre Punks sneakers, adding a punk flair to my makeshift ensemble. _

_Joshua raised an eyebrow as he saw my outfit. _

"_But it suited you better before, Neku. The Reaper even thinks so."_

"_Shut up."_

_End Flashback_

I grabbed the gear; I didn't really wear it anyway. I also grabbed some Sheep Heavenly gear that Shiki forced me to buy; in case I needed some extra fabrics. I grinned at the thought of Shiki's face if I used one of her beloved brand's shirts to bind a wound or patch up a hole in the tent. I thought about what else to bring.

_Toothbrush… it's in there_

_Phone… That's in there too, not that I'd call anyone. Oh, yeah, I gotta get Shiki's, Beat's and Rhyme's phone numbers. Better put a note for that in there too._

_Alright, I guess I'm done! Better get to sleep._

That night I dreamt… about Shiki.

_Neku's dream._

_Shiki was running towards me, her face jovial and a smile on her lips. Mr. Mew in one hand as the other was reached out to me. She kept running, but she didn't get any closer. I walked forward and she moved again, plowing into me and knocking me onto the ground. I blinked and she disappeared, seeming to take part of my heart with her. I got up and searched, as her voice slowly echoed throughout my surroundings, growing fainter by the second."_

"_Neku, __Neku, __Neku, __Neku…"_

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I awoke with a start, realizing that I was in a cold sweat, and still breathing heavily at the depth of the dream. I shook myself and saw the alarm clock

_Oh, Shit- It's 9:15!_

I had just enough time to get ready and be out the door at 9:20. At 9:29 I was at the meeting place.

"Wow, you just made it!" Rhyme's pendant was jingling in the wind.

"Yeah, ya' got here right afta' Shiki!" Beat pointed at a still-out-of-breath Shiki, who, smiled at me before resuming her panting. Then they stopped to look at my outfit, staring at the makeshift clothes. They stared for a full thirty seconds, especially Shiki, who was gaping. I began to get self-conscious.

"What?" _Crap, is it too flashy? Did I go wrong in making-?_

Shiki broke out into a huge smile, and giggled. "You're learning, Neku! Those clothes look great on you! But look here, the color doesn't quite…"

My subtle blush went unnoticed by Shiki, as she rattled out compliments and criticism on my ensemble. But Beat and Rhyme grinned, and Beat whispered something to Rhyme, who giggled. I scowled at them,

"All right, guys, let's go!"

We ended up taking the subway… to a train… to a bus… then finally to the campsite. I looked around. The greens were everywhere, from the huge grassy trees, perfect for climbing, to the lively undergrowth teeming with small animals, to the open fields, broken only by small campfire pits. All in all, it was a perfect campsite.

"Not bad!" I was honestly impressed by Shiki's ability to say the same thing I was thinking.

"You haven't even seen where we're camping yet!" exclaimed Rhyme.

"Huh? But I thought _this _was the campsite." I was confused.

"Nah, there's a great place a couple of miles uphill from here. Rhyme an' I camp there all the time," Beat explained.

I shrugged. "All, right. So we'll hike over to your camping spot, and then set up camp?"

"Yup!" replied Rhyme. "We'd better go, so we have enough time to get ready by sunset!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAnd that's it!

Sorry, I got carried away with detail, but I'll have the unintentional romance tomorrow. I got something great planned, just wait and see!

R&R as always!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

XXXX Author's Note XXXX

Well, it's here! Right on schedule, too.

To Pmiller, Kisdota, and Sgt. Red: Thanks for the definition! Pmiller, I assume that Yuri means Straight (As in GuyxGirl). Sgt. Red, I read your fic, pretty sweet, man! I loved it!

But guys, don't hesitate to tell me what I need to do better. I really need your advice as this is my first fic (and the first piece of writing that I actually let others see). The positive comments are good for my heart, but I need what's good for my head. BTW, I'm Indian. I just felt like getting that of my chest :)

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We were hiking for nearly 2 hours; which was easy compared to, say, a 7 reduction chain battle, but taxing just the same. I couldn't deny the amazing view, though. We passed a sparkling river that Rhyme said also met us at the camp site. The mountains, trees, and wildlife were full of energy, rejuvenating me more than one of Mind And Body Foods' Herbal shakes. We stopped to eat lunch at a small ridge halfway to our destination. Beat had one of his beloved instant curry packs, while Shiki and I had Ramen Don's instant noodles. Rhyme packed a simple Bento that she invited us to eat., but we politely refused.

Eventually, we got up and quickly made the rest of the way up to the campsite at around 5:00

"Awrhight, Rhyme an' I'll set up the tents, you and Shiki'll get some firewood, aight?" Beat requested.

"_Aight!"_ I mimicked him, and Shiki giggled, giving my face a light flush.

We set out. Finding firewood was an easy but tiring chore. Shiki and I collected kindling, then eventually moved on to logs and branches. When we had gotten enough wood, we headed back to the camp. Something was wrong, though…

"Um… Beat?" Shiki had seen what I saw, it was apparent in the disbelief on her face.

"Yeah?" Beat had a sly grin on his face, and so did Rhyme.

"There're only two tents." I was stupefied.

"Two beds, as well," Rhyme piped up. "Beat and I will share one, we're used to sleeping together." (A/N: Nothin' Dirty, Folks!)

"But… That means…" I the blush crept up my face. Shiki was tomato red, too.

"Yep! You two lovebirds get a bed all to yourselves!" cackled Rhyme.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You guys…" I growled, then realized Beat wouldn't forgive me if I cursed in front of Rhyme. "Really need to get a hobby."

Beat burst out laughing, literally rolling on the ground in tears, as Rhyme gave me a grin, as if saying, _This is our hobby_.

I checked my watch. _6:00, damn, there's no way out of this. The last bus left at guys must have planned this perfectly. _I looked at Shiki out of the corner of my eye. Her blush had yet to go away, it looked as if she had painted her face red, right up to the roots of her hair. _Her light, brown hair. Soft, beautiful hair. Lush, chocolate colored- What the hell am I thinking!?!?! _Oh, God. One way or another, I wouldn't forget this night for the rest of my life.

At around 7:00, we set up the campfire, and feasted on a dinner of baked beans, curry (beat) s'mores (Rhyme and Shiki couldn't get enough of them), and hot dogs (a campfire staple, it you ask me).

"Errrrgh," Beat groaned as he stretched his now full belly. "I guess it's time to call it a night."

Rhyme pretended to yawn. "Yeah, I'm really tired. What about you, Neku and Shiki?" She smiled at us innocently. _Little She-Demon_.

I felt the blush returning to my ears, and I looked sideways at Shiki—Just as she looked at me. We both blushed even redder and turned away from each other. Beat chuckled. "Oh, and you might want to cuddle up a bit, too. It gets pretty cold up here," Rhyme added.

I grit my teeth. _They really thought this through, crap. But then again, I'm sleeping with Shiki (A/N: Nothing Dirty, guys!)… _I was blushing to the tips of my ears. _Cuddling… with Shiki… _I shook my head to clear my slightly lewd thoughts.

"A-Alright," stuttered Shiki, who seemed as embarrassed as I was. "I-I'll go get ch-changed."

"Y-yeah," I muttered. "Me too."

We both walked to the same cluster of trees, looked at each other, blushed, and went in opposite directions away from the camp. Beat and Rhyme were guffawing, reduced to tears on the ground. _Up yours, Beat._

I quickly got changed and headed to our tent, only to see the sign on the entrance. I read the words, barely noticing the light footsteps behind me. "The love tent? Oh, god." I raised my voice. "Beat, Rhyme, when we get back, I swear..,"

The only response was the loud snickering from the other tent. I turned around and saw Shiki walking up to me in her Sheep Heavenly pajamas. Suddenly, I didn't hate their brand anymore.

Shiki was wearing a light pink fleece shirt with matching pants. The outfit was slightly innocent and childish, yet still showed off her curves. I thought back to where I had last seen that outfit. _Hmmm. Oh yeah! That Sheep Heavenly shop near Scramble, I'm not sure where. It was called… No way. That can't be right. _I blushed as I remembered the name. _The… snuggle PJs? _Shiki blushed, as well. Mr. Mew was still in her arms as she read the sign next to me. She gulped. "U-um… I'll go in first, I guess."

I shrugged, still blushing. "Sure, ladies first."

She went in, opening the flap, and shrieked.

I ran inside, expecting the worst, but found… something even worse.

"Oh, no…" I groaned, seeing the inside of the tent for the first time. "Beat… You are soooo dead tomorrow morning!!!

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And that's it. How'd you like it? I just made my first cliffhanger. I'm sooo proud! I'm feeling pretty evil right now, so I think I'll let out an evil laugh.

That was awesome! Best evil laugh ever. For those of you reading, it went a little something like this:

"BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! HEHEHEHE… Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk… Ell- Oh- Ell."

Okay, so it's sounds a little weird on print, but trust me, it's awesome.

What's that, you ask? Am I just stalling so I can get my one thousand word quota while still leaving out the scene you guys are waiting for?

No… of course not! Do I seem like the kind of person that'd do that?

Don't answer that question.

Okay, I've hit 1000, bye!

*Waves vigorously as I push you all out the door*

And if anyone asks who's fault the cliffhanger is, I officially blame Kisdota! He said that people would like my fic more if I held out on them. So it's HIS fault!!! *Points accusing finger at Kisdota, who is looking at everyone with huge innocent eyes and holding a teddy bear, the true image of a 3-year-old boy.

Okay, bye for real now!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

XXXX AUTHOR'S NOTE XXXX

I might not have time to do this chapter later so I'm gonna finish it early… nearly 12 hours early… Whatever.

To Kisdota. 1) *Gulp* 2) I don't really think you're insane, you seem more of a mad genius to me. 3) I was just joking around with the word quota. I had already hit a thousand before I started goofing off in the author's note.

To Sgt. Red- Looks like we're going to find out.

So it Yaoi is guy x guy, and Yuri is Girl x Girl, what's guy x girl?

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Once again, I was amazed at the amount of care Beat and Rhyme used to make our lives uncomfortable. That said, I was still pretty pissed.

The tent only had one small bed, a portable cot, by the looks of it. But that wasn't what caught my eye.

More heart shaped pillows than I could imagine were stuffed in the room, ranging from the size of a pincushion to the size of Mr. Mew. Rhyme had put notes on all of them, and most of them read things like, 'I love you, Neku,' or 'I love you, Shiki'.

My idiotic blush went off again, coating my face in red. I turned to look at Shiki, and she was blushing as madly as I was.

"Ummmm, Neku?"

'Yeah?"

"Are you seeing this, too?"

"Uh, Yeah."

I walked over to the bed, and picked up the note attached. "Snuggle on me," I read. "Rhyme, I can't believe you!"

I made the executive decision to start plowing the pillows into the corner, my ears red as I did so. Shiki was still in the same place, probably in shock. Her face was as red as mine felt. I threw another pillow at the tent wall, and, to my chagrin, it started singing one of the most irritating songs I knew.  
"Neku and Shiki, Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then come baby, sitting in the carriage!" Neku and Shiki-"

At which point I grabbed the pillow and threw it as hard as I could out of the tent. _How did these guys get all the pillows up here, anyway?_

What I'd like to have done.

_I turned back to Shiki and bowed. "Shall we go to bed, my lady?" Shiki giggled, taking my hand and running to the bed._

What actually happened

I cleared my throat. "So, I'll take the right side of the bed… unless you want it."

Shiki nodded slowly. "Alright."

We went onto the bed, Shiki on the left and me on the right. I was practically falling off the corner as I lied down on my respective side of the bed.

_Midnight, 4 hours later._

Shiki Misaki was cold. Beat and Rhyme had been right when they said that it got chilly up here. She shivered. The only source of warmth in her tent was… Neku. Shiki blushed. Neku… She didn't know what to feel about him. At first, he gave her the cold shoulder and the nickname 'stalker', and basically shunned her at every opportunity. Then, after the death of Rhyme, he finally began to open up, and she even became his most important thing! She was still mad at herself for that. Because of her, Neku had to play the game not once, not twice, but _three _times, just to get her to the RG. And when they got back, Neku didn't want to stop being friends, just because of her appearance. Looking back, it seemed pretty silly of her to think that Neku would be that shallow, after she got to know him. He even thought that she was beautiful! No guy had ever called her that, and, despite being Eri's friend, she'd never had a boyfriend. She definitely liked Neku more than a friend, but didn't know how to approach him. _Well, he seems asleep right now… Maybe if I pretend that I'm sleeping… _She pushed back the blush that crept up her face as she slowly moved to the middle of the bed. She went up right against Neku's back, and _Oh god what am I doing_ pressed against Neku's back and entwined her legs in his.

(Neku's POV again)

I felt Shiki's soft skin press against mine and blushed. _She's probably asleep. _I blushed. _Maybe if I play it off like I'm sleeping…_ I gave a loud fake yawn and turned around, throwing my arm over her and held her in a tight embrace. I felt her get warmer, and I did as well, but she swallowed her embarrassment and once more entwined her legs in mine. I blushed. _This is Shiki, and me, and oh, my god her legs are soft._ I hugged her tighter and felt her silk-like skin against mine. _The best feeling in the world_. I decided that tonight might not be so cold after all.

(Shiki's POV)

When I felt Neku, hugging me back, I almost fainted right then and there. I began to heat up, the blush on my face warming the air. I entwined my legs in his, feeling his warm legs against mine. _The greatest sensation in the universe_. I wished we could stay like this forever. The cold was shut out in Neku's tight embrace, and I felt a strange sensation in my stomach, something between a hunger and a heat, filling my torso with butterflies. I decided the sensation might not be bad, and I cuddled even closer to Neku, who in turn hugged me tighter. I began to wonder if he was really asleep, or if he knew I wasn't. At the moment, though, I didn't care. I just threw caution to the wind and decided that I'd sleep with Neku for the rest of the night, (A/N, We're not talking dirty, folks!)

(Neku's POV)

When Shiki began to cuddle me even closer, seeming to press right into my skin, I instinctively hugged her tighter. I was hyperaware of everything about her. Every movement, every breath, even her heartbeat was not missed by me. I slowly let myself fall asleep, knowing that tonight was probably the best night of my life. _I'm gonna kill Beat and Rhyme- Right after I thank them._

We awoke to the sound of camera flashes the next morning.

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Alright, it's done! What'd you guys think?

I hope I got everything right. I still need help (and lots of it!) so don't hesitate with the constructive criticism!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Alright, Guys!**

Here's the next chapter, but before that, our review responses.

To Blue toad: Thanks for the chapter to chapter review, but I'm kind of a guy. Just not a very manly one.

To Vixen's Shadow: Believe it or not, this is Rhyme's way of saying 'Thank You' to Neku for giving her a second chance (in this fic at least).

To PMiller1: Thanks for the info! Keep up the review work!

To The Legendarie L-T: Nice pun, but I intend to have Beat and Rhyme matchmaking throughout the entire story- it's kind of my original idea for the fic, and I'm going to keep it. Any tips on making it better are welcome, as well as new ideas for their little stunts.

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Shiki and I were startled out of our rest by the sound of camera flashes and loud cackling by Beat.

"You two lovebirds awake?" He taunted, taking more shots with his camera. "Don't let us bother you!"

Shiki and I were blushing like crazy. The night before was like a dream, letting us float above our normal inhibitions. But now, we were abruptly brought down to Earth. Hard. Shiki and I realized the position we were in; unlike last night where we forsook our sense of sight in the darkness, now we were well aware of the closeness between is. Our legs were still entangled, and our bodies pressed against each other with frightening intimacy. Shiki and I tried to stand up at the same time, but only succeeded in falling over each other, much to Beat and Rhyme's amusement. I finally disentangled myself from Shiki and got up, stalking towards them with anger filling up my body. These two had gone far enough. Shiki was right behind me, her blushed replaced with an angry glare. We nodded at each other. We would put our embarrassment aside for now. We had some friends to kill.

_(Ten Minutes Later)_

Beat rubbed his head where Shiki had whacked him. "Yo, I know ya' guys was pissed and all, but you didn't hafta throw our cameras off a freakin' _cliff!!_"

I shrugged, still scowling. "They were disposables, right? Consider them disposed of."

Shiki giggled, and I fought the blush coming up my face.

We eventually set up camp and, after breakfast, Shiki and I headed back down the campsite, leaving Beat and Rhyme in the dust.

Cameras destroyed, and the job done. We still had some unfinished business, especially considering last night.

Now that we were alone, the embarrassment caught us unawares, and coated our faces with dark red.

"I was awake," Shiki blurted out, looking everywhere but me.

"Yeah, so was I." I had figured she wasn't asleep, but, at the time, I didn't care.

The awkward silence dragged on a bit longer. I finally decided to get the conversation up and running again.

"Last night was… nice." I probably couldn't have been more embarrassed if I tried.

"Y-Yeah, I wish we could do that every night." Shiki realized what she said and turned crimson, just as her blush was fading. She ran ahead of me a bit to escape the awkwardness of what she had blurted out.

I realized that she was probably two inches away from fainting from embarrassment. Then, not only would we have to slow down for Beat and Rhyme, but they probably make me carry her down and tease me for it for the rest of my life. I sighed and ran back up to her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, so do I," I whispered in her ear.

Shiki blushed and fainted, leaving me cursing my stupidity.

"God, I'm even dumber than Beat!"

_20 minutes later, Shiki's Point of View_

"What? Where am I?" My voice was slightly slurred as I opened my eyes to see Neku's worried face.

"We're still on the trail, with about 30 minutes to go, I'd guess. Beat and Rhyme are still a while back, thank God. You blacked out after I told you…"

Neku blushed and hid his eyes under a curtain of orange hair. I blushed as well, then turned even redder as I realized that he was carrying me. His hands were at my knees and shoulder blades as he carried me near his chest. I realized that the Neku of when we first met would probably just have thrown me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, provided he picked me up at all. I felt his closeness, his heartbeat, for a couple more of his strides before he stopped.

"Shiki, could you get down now?"

I blushed, realizing that I had been zoning out for the last 30 seconds. "Sorry," I muttered, as he gently set me on my feet.

"No, don't be. I loved it as much as you probably did. My arms just ache like hell now."

I realized that the old Neku probably wouldn't have the guts to say that. As it was, we both blushed and looked away.

Neku had gotten a bit closer to me, and his hand twitched, as if he wanted to hold mine. I grabbed his and he flushed slightly, but didn't break away. I pushed away the desire to kiss him and looked up at the sky, marveling at how far we'd come.

_Meanwhile…_

Rhyme and Beat watched the shenanigans from afar, grinning at their antics. Beat thought back to their plan and grinned. "Yo Rhyme, you're a mad genius."

Rhyme smiled back, and Beat wondered how such an innocent smile could hold such a devious person. Then he shook his head. He knew that deep down, Rhyme was the same sweet girl he loved (A/N: We're talking brother/sister love, guys! Not incest or anything). She just wanted to push her two best friends together, where they belonged. Rhyme's innocent smile turned into a smirk. So Beat, did you get the film before Neku chucked our cameras?

Beat nodded and showed her the negatives.

Rhyme smiled again, thinking about how perfect the picture would look on the... (A/N: what exactly is Rhyme going to put the picture on? I can't tell you yet. Rest assured, it does not say 'internet')

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAlright, that's it! As you can see, a plot is finally beginning to shine through the mass of jumbled crap surrounding it. Trust me, you'll love the thing Rhyme's putting together for our couple.

R&R as always.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 (Holy Crap!!! Already!?!?!)

…Wow… I've written chapter =s for this fiction for an entire week now. That's pretty… wow… Thanks guys. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. This chapter probably won't be that good; I didn't get much sleep that night and I have no clue what to write. Anyways…

To BlackoutPanther: ?

To Blue Toad: Thanks for the bad DBZ reference!

To Kisdota, Pmiller, and everyone else: Keep up the support!

P.S.: If anyone has any ideas for what to write, don't hesitate to give some in your reviews! I need the brainstorm, and I'll probably put whatever in the fic; provided it's fluffy enough.

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"So, how was the camping trip, guys?" Rhyme was having _waaayyy_ to much fun with this.

The reminder of the camping trip- and the night we spent there- caused Shiki and I to blush, and I gave Rhyme a glare.

"Why don't you guys just run along. I bet _Daisukenojo's _pretty hungry for some curry."

"Yo man, don't call me that!" Beat's rant was interrupted by the grumble in his belly; something that always seemed to happen whenever someone mentioned curry. "Rhyme, how 'bout it?"

Rhyme sighed, but nodded. "Sure thing, Beat."

The two strutted off, holding hands. Rhyme shot us a look over her shoulder as she left, sending chills down my back. Shiki looked at me, a rare event since last night. So Neku, my parents don't expect me back until around 9:00. I chose the movie last time, so it's your choice today. What do you want to do?"

I looked at my watch. _7:00. Sundown in about 20 minutes. We've got time._

"I know a place." I instantly cringed at how lame that sounded.

Shiki stifled a giggle. "I know a couple places too."

I gave her a playful scowl. "A _special _place. I generally go there when I want to get away from the world. And you don't have to come if you don't want to."

Shiki stopped laughing. "Sorry. I'd love to come with you, Neku."

"It's fine. Come on, then. It's only about a 15 minutes walk from here." I hoped she wasn't afraid of heights.

Shiki linked her arm around mine, in a fit of courage. I smiled at her, and she blushed. _A _Smile_? I've changed. A lot._

_Ten minutes later…_

We had reached Udagawa, where the hard part came. "How well can you climb, Shiki?"

Shiki looked up, surprised. "Pretty good, actually. But why do you need to know that? There's nothing to climb here."

I hid my smile under my collar. "Watch."

I climbed up the side of Cyco records, where there were a bunch of easy handholds. Once on the top of the building, I jumped to a small alcove on the Wild Boar Shop. From there, I climbed a small ladder onto the Graphitized wall. I turned to Shiki. "You think you can get all the way-" I stopped. Shiki was directly behind me, already on the wall!

Shiki smirked. "Were you saying something, Neku?"

I gaped at her for a couple of minutes, astonished. I eventually swallowed my surprise. "Nice."

Shiki's smirk gave way into a shining grin. "Thanks."

"Then let's go. We've got a while to go."

_4 minutes later…_

"Wow, Neku! I didn't even know this place _existed_!"

We were on a really high-up alcove on top of a run-down building just outside of Shibuya, our legs dangling down the side of the concrete giant. The shop, a seller of a forsaken brand, was in disrepair, the trees, vines, and creepers providing not only good footholds, but an excellent view. The building, a home to urban wildlife, reached really high up in the air, giving us a perfect view of Shibuya. While an excellent view, you could only reach it through a series of complicated climbs, progressively getting higher as you made your way across the backstreets of Udagawa.

"I try." I grinned at Shiki's star-struck face as she gazed across the city.

"Hey, it's my house! Look, it's right between those two apartments, right there…"

She took my hand and pointed it to her house. "Can you see it?"

"Yeah, I-" We then realized our position, Shiki holding my hand, one leg over my knee. My hand was on her opposite shoulder, to keep her steady over the gargantuan heights. We both blushed as I unconsciously squeezed her shoulder.

"Neku?" Shiki bit her lip as she scooted a bit closer to me.

"Yeah, Shiki?" I turned her around so that we were facing each other, our legs no longer dangling on top of the building.

"We're just friends, right?" Shiki put her hands lightly on my chest.

"The best of friends, Shiki." My hands were at her waist.

"Friends that slept together." Shiki was amazingly close to me, I could feel the heat emanating from her.

"Friends that slept together and are now about to kiss." We closed our eyes.

Our lips made contact about midway, pressing against each other. I was acting on instinct as I began to lick her lips, inviting her tongue outside. She quickly complied and began to fondle my tongue with hers, driving my 'oh my god this is the best thing ever' meter into the red. I began to explore the inner reaches of her mouth, as she did the same. As our kiss deepened and got more passionate, Shiki's hands moved from my chest and knotted my hair, and my hands moved between her shoulder blades and wrapped her in a tight hug as I angled my mouth to kiss her better. _This is almost better than last night. Almost._

Our kiss lasted a long time, and we eventually ended up cuddled up, watching the stars.

"Shiki?" It was my turn to be embarrassed.

"What is it?"

"That was my first, you know."

Shiki flushed. "Me, too."

We watched the stars for a while longer, until Shiki pulled away from me. I turned to her confused.

"Ever wanted a girlfriend?" Shiki's face was red as she waited for my response.

I allowed myself to smile, despite the thumping of my heart. I lightly took her face in mine. "Ever since I saw this, Shiki."

Shiki's face came close to mine again, locking lips with me once more. Let me tell you, the second kiss is _way _better than the first.

_Meanwhile…_

Beat watched Rhyme as she took her second make-out photo of the night. They were on a tree not so far away from where Neku and Shiki were busy swapping spit. Beat stared in wonder. "Rhyme, where'r you gettin' all those cameras?"

Rhyme smiled. "I know a guy."

Beat, of course, took the phrase too seriously and grimaced, promising himself he'd monitor Rhyme's social life a little closer. No camera-giving punk was going to take her away from him.

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And there it is, folks! I hope you liked my first kissing scene. And pictures. W00t! Anyways, Please R&R!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 (Cool!)

A/N: Wow, I'm actually feeling pretty good today. Generally I'm in a stupor from school till home, but I've managed to get through the whole day without falling asleep. This is an accomplishment for me, people! Anyways, the next chapter (for all of you who haven't yet suffocated in the fluff) will be a back to school chapter (In honor of Kisdota and DarkSideOfBlue's ideas), so be warned! P.S. 559 hits!!! Awesome!!! I didn't expect that many people to read this fic!!! Also… what's the difference between Hits and Visitors???

To DarkSideOfBlue: …wow… I _soooo_ didn't expect an entire montage of ideas! Thanks! I might take some of your ideas, but my conscious demands that I tweak them a bit so that I'm not copying you. You could fuel your own fanfic with all those ideas!

To Pmiller: Nice idea, but aren't Sota and Nao, you know, _dead?_

To Kisdota: Thanks for the idea! Darkside seems to have it covered, however.

To Blue Toad: Thanks! I'm relieved too.

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I awoke to the alarm clock on the most dreaded day in the history of my life. The first day of school. _Already?_ When I had come back from the Game, I had completely forgotten the fact that it was almost the end of summer break. Luckily, my parents (who, for some reason, had no idea that I'd left, probably Joshua's doing) were responsible enough to keep me in. I had recently found that Shiki, Eri, and Beat all went to Shibuya High, and Rhyme learned at the nearby middle school. There was no hope of getting the same classes, however. I stretched and began to get ready, remembering last night on top of the run-down building.

"_Ever wanted a girlfriend?" Shiki's face was red as she waited for my response._

_I allowed myself to smile, despite the thumping of my heart. I lightly took her face in my hands. "Ever since I saw this, Shiki."_

I blushed. Did this mean that we were officially a couple? I had never actually said 'yes'. And what would Beat and Rhyme say? And Eri? She might be protective of Shiki, as she had already lost her once. Anyways, we were all going to meet in front of the school 15 minutes early, to see if our classes were the same.

I got to school earlier than the others, but Shiki was right behind me. Shiki stared at me, as if expecting me to say something.

I began to feel awkward. "What?'

Shiki realized she was staring. "Oh, um… What are we going to do about the whole, you know…"

I realized what she was talking about, it amazed me how in sync we were. "The whole we-kind-of-have-a-relationship-but-Rhyme-and-Beat-will-give-us-hell-about-it problem?"

Shiki gave me a small smile. "Yeah, but more coherent."

I ignored her remark and continued. "What do you think we should do?"

Shiki shrugged. "I was thinking that we should, you know, forget about that."

I raised my eyebrows. "OK. I mean… we could." I began to see the good in her choice. "Yeah. Who gives about them? I just want to be with-" I stopped and blushed, turning away from her and putting my hand on my shoulder. "You."

"Oh. Actually, I-" Whatever Shiki was about to say was interrupted by a girl's call of "Hi, Shiki!!!"

Shiki turned and called back. "Oh! Hi, Eri!"

Eri ran up and looked at me. "Oh, was I interrupting something? It's Neku, right?"

I nodded. "That's me." It was odd looking like Eri, who Shiki looked and acted like in the UG.

Eri smiled. "Cool! You look exactly like Shiki said you would! She never stops talking about you, you know."

Shiki turned red and punched Eri's arm lightly. "Eri!!!"

Eri grinned. "Oops."

We all turned to hear a voice. "Yo, guys! Did we miss anything?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, really."

Beat grinned at us, as Rhyme came up behind him. "So, guys! Do anythin' special last night?"

Shiki and I blushed and looked away, despite our decision to not care.

Eri looked at us with interest, then Rhyme tugged on her arm and began whispering into her ear. I only heard brief snippets as Eri's head nodded with growing interest. _"So Neku and Shiki… and we… and we also… getting them together… and so we're going to… are you in?"_

Eri grinned and nodded, and Shiki and I looked at each other in fear. _Not Eri, too!_

"Alright, guys! What classes do we have together?"

It turned out that Shiki and I shared Algebra, homeroom, and Language. However, Beat and Eri had classes with us, but only had Algebra together with us. We all had science together, but Shiki and I had different rooms for History. All in all, I had Shiki in all of my classes except History. Cool.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Beat was startled and told Rhyme to hurry to her classes. While she scurried away, he ran to his first class, probably to get a good start in Algebra. I snorted. _Yeah, right._ Eri gave us one last glance, then ran off to History, while saying over her shoulder, "Don't stay there too long!"

"What's their deal?" I wondered out loud. "That was the early bell. Class doesn't start for five minutes."

"Yeah, but Algebra and History are on the other side of campus. Language is right over there," Shiki pointed to a building right next to us. "So we can take our time."

"Alright, let's go." I clasped Shiki's hand in mine as we strutted away to homeroom. Shiki blushed at first, but eventually held mine back. She smiled at me, and I smiled right back. _I don't believe in fantasy._ (A/N: Kudos to anyone who knows where those lines come from. I slightly altered them, but you should still get it.). We walked towards our school, towards the next step of our lives.

_Meanwhile…_

Eri snapped a quick picture of the two holding hands, then stuffed her camera in her pocket before someone saw her. _Got it. Better give it to Rhyme after school. That is one devious little girl, but I'm sure that Shiki'll like what she'll give her once we're done. _Eri then realized the time and ran, full speed, to her next class, away from the couple.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAll right, we're done here! Don't forget to review, and here's a hint for the lines- It's from TWEWY, but not in the dialogue, nor is it written anywhere. Good Luck, and keep up the support!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 (Sooooo close…)

All right, guys! Here it is! I have exactly 730 hits right now (It'll probably be more as I finish) and a total of 173 hits yesterday. Awesome! I didn't think that many people would read this. Anyway, comment time!

To Kisdota: You'll see… also, thanks for the 'I-read-a-fic-two-seconds-after-it's-released-and-review-it-just-as-fast' support you've been giving me!

To Pmiller: …Good point… I thought that Rhyme had come back because she had never really been erased, so when Joshua took pity on Neku and Beat, he still had the power to change her into a person again. That's just me, but maybe I could incorporate them into my story somehow…

To VampireGirl: Thanks for the review! Congratz on finding the song!!

To GuyInBlack: Thanks for the info! I think I finally get it now…

To DarkSideOfBlue: OMG I'm so sorry. I didn't think it was like that… thanks for the ideas nonetheless.

Okay, guys. The lines I stole from TWEWY are actually in one of the songs, Déjà Vu. VampireGirl figured it out- kudos to her!!!

Anyways, here's what you've been waiting for…

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Language class seemed pretty cool, at least we had a cool teacher. Shiki and I were across the room, both on opposite ends of the middle row. I had a window seat, which was nice. I kept half of my attention on the teacher, he was only spurting first-day orientation crap, but he knew it and tried to keep things lively. My gaze kept straying to Shiki, and I knew that hers was doing the same. We made eye contact several times, where I'd do things like raising my eyebrows and pointing a finger gun at my head, and she stifle a giggle. _Maybe school isn't so bad after all._ Shiki looked cute in her school uniform, and Mr. Mew now stuck out of her backpack.

Algebra was kind of lame, our teacher was pretty 3rd rate, if you ask me. I mean, she was all right, but didn't quite understand the core mechanics of her own material. I sighed. This class was only bearable because Shiki sat right next to me. Eri was behind Shiki, though, and kept shooting glances at Shiki and I. She occasionally whispered to Shiki, who gave mixed reactions. Once, Eri gave me a mischievous glance and whispered something into Shiki's ear, giggling. Shiki turned red, looked at me, and turned to Eri, wide-eyed. "Eri!" She whispered, but not without a giggle of her own.

Homeroom was cool. We had our Language teacher again, and most of the juniors were telling us he was the coolest teacher. He was a pretty awesome guy. He used to be in a semi-popular local band, but gave it up and decided he wanted to fulfill his original goal to be a teacher. How cool is that? Anyway, he gave us a slightly shorter orientation speech, then let us have free time for the rest of the hour. Shiki and I chatted for a bit, but Beat interrupted us with that almost surgical carefulness of his as he picked apart our conversation with one sentence. Okay, he ran up to us and remarked loudly, "Yo, I'm starving! When's lunch, man?" But that's the extent of carefulness for Beat. I told them that The high school and Junior high both shared the same cafeteria, so we could sit with Rhyme at lunch next hour. Beat punched the air. "Hell yeah!" His stomach rumbled. "Ugh, do they serve curry in that cuff-at-err-ia?" Shiki rolled her eyes. "It's _cafeteria , _Beat. And I doubt it."

Beat looked at me like he had just been asked to jump into a pool of jell-o. "No kidding? Wha's da deal widdat' huh?" He stalked off, grumbling about the craziness of schools to not stock curry. I looked at Shiki, who was smiling. "No curry?" I asked sarcastically. "This is news."

Shiki giggled and punched me lightly in the arm. I rubbed it in mock pain. "So, I'll see you at lunch?" I asked her. "Yep." She replied. I walked away and asked the teacher if I could to the bathroom; I had to go take a leak.

_(In the lunchroom, several minutes later)_

I looked around, trying to locate my friends, feeling an awful lot like that day in Hachiko. Suddenly, I saw Beat and Rhyme waving at me, and I ran over, sitting across from the two of them. Beat still looked a little P.O.'d about the lunchroom's lack of curry. Eri was close behind, sitting next to Rhyme on the opposite side of me. She and Rhyme got into an enthusiastic conversation about brands, and Rhyme's bell pendant. I drifted off, scanning the crowd for Shiki. I found her next to the entrance, Mr. Mew snuggled against her chest. _What I'd give to spend one day as that piggy. _I blushed and mentally waved that thought away as I waved to Shiki to come over. She saw my hand and came over. She chatted with Eri and Rhyme, joining in on their conversation, then Rhyme left with some of her school friends to go hang out somewhere. I saw Beat's eyes flash, but he let them go with a smile painted on his face. Shiki looked at him, frowning. "You know that she's not going to be with you forever." She reminded Beat. Beat grumbled something that could have been a 'yes'. "And you know that eventually, a guy _will_ come and take her away, right?" Beat muttered something else and stalked away to get his lunch.

I sighed and got up. "Yeah, I'll go talk to him."

And I walked away from my friends and into the one thing that I had the least experience in. Comforting a friend.

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And that's it! Sorry I made this chapter go on and on, and making it so short. I don't have much time to write during the weekends, sorry. Anyways, please R&R as always, and remember to actually help me fix whatever I'm doing wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 (Finally!!!)

Hey guys! Yep, I actually made it to chapter 10. I have some bad news, though. It's all downhill from here. A couple more chapters, and this fic will be over and I'll be working on a new one. As Shiki would say, I'm just not _feeling _it. Sorry, my new fic will be better. And, I'll be with this fic for a while longer. No specified date on how long.

To Pmiller: I feel ya, buddy.

To Kisdota: Ouch. Better get a job soon, but thanks for the support anyway.

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I found Beat solemnly taking a cheeseburger (he had grown a certain fondness to them ever since he tried 'The Tatsumi Burger') from the tray. I grabbed a cheeseburger and followed him.

"Beat, you know Shiki was right."

Beat turned around. "I know, just stop bugging me about it, aight?"

I knew enough about Beat to know that he was seriously upset about this.

"Beat, just live in the moment. Screw the future. You only live once, or, in our cases, twice. Enjoy what you've got in the time you've got."

Beat looked at me for a while, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, he burst into laughter, despite the fact that we were making a scene. 'You're right, man. I've gotta stop turning into a heavy thinker like you."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "So, we cool?"

"Yeah. Man, this place needs some curry" Beat clutched his stomach. "I know! I'll make a pet-ut-ion to get some curry, like in those TV shows!"

He ran off. "It's PETITION, Beat!" I called after him, then shook my head. _He's hopeless. _I walked back to our table.

Shiki and Eri were still there, talking about some new shoes or something. Shiki suddenly turned around and looked at me, saying "How'd it go with Beat?"

"Pretty good. He went off to make a petition to get curry in the lunch room.

Eri wrinkled her nose. "Curry? Who eats that stuff?" as Shiki simply shook her head and uttered, "He has no idea what he's doing, does he?"

"Not a clue."

Shiki sighed. "Oh, well. Let's go, Neku."

The courtyard was a huge circular grassy area with a bunch of trees. There was an area near the middle that was extremely populated with trees, and most of the antisocials went there to get out of the public. I had the urge to go there myself, but then I realized that I wasn't exactly an antisocial anymore, and that Shiki was right next to me, waiting for me to say something.

"So, first day of school, huh?" I decided to say what had been on my mind ever since the first bell rang

"Yeah. It's weird, isn't it?"

I instantly knew what she was talking about. "I know. All my life, you guys were living right alongside me. We had no idea each other existed, and now, it's like an invisible barrier was thrown off, or something."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but not so poetic." Shiki giggled.

I nudged her in the ribs, and she kissed my cheek, causing my face to redden. I reddened even more as I heard a camera click somewhere behind us. I narrowed my eyes and scanned the crowd, looking for anyone suspicious. I spotted Eri, walking directly away from us, and I pointed her out to Shiki. "Eri."

Shiki's eyed narrowed and she ran after the retreating figure, Mr. Mew in tow. I shook my head and walked towards the trees. _Old habits die hard._

_After school_

I stretched, still lethargic after a long hour of history. Our teacher was really boring, droning on and on about things nothing cared about. Worst of all, Shiki wasn't in my class, so it was all I could do to just stay awake until the end. I searched for my friends until I saw Beat and Rhyme standing at the gates. Shiki and Eri were catching up to them, Eri slightly smug as she whispered something to Rhyme. Rhyme gave an evil grin and nodded. I ran up to them. "Hey, guys, thank god it's over, right?"

Everyone nodded wearily.

Shiki broke the silence. "So, Beat, how's the petition going?"

"It's goin' awesome, yo! I had no idea what to do at first," I subtly rolled my eyes as Beat enthusiastically talked about his latest 'idea'. "But Rhyme helped me, an' now all I gotta do is ask people to sign it! This is even easier than I thought!"

I crossed my arms. "So what are you going to do when everyone's signed it?"

Beat's smile faded. "I dunno. Ask Rhyme."

Eri rolled her eyes and gave Rhyme an 'I'm so sorry' look. Rhyme shook her head and said, "We've got to take it to the school board and show them."

Beat's eyes lit up as if he had just figured it out himself. "Oh, yeah! We gotta put it on a board, then it's curry-palooza!"

Rhyme sighed and led Beat away, patiently repeating what he had to do. Eri raised her eyebrows and sighed. "And on that intelligent note, I'll take my leave." She glanced back over her shoulder at us before she left, and we kept an eye on her so she wouldn't try anything funny.

"Ugh. What is wrong with them? Can't they meddle with someone else's life?" I was staring holes into Eri's back.

Shiki shrugged. "Hey, we're only a couple because of them."

"Yeah, but-"

"And are you saying that you didn't like that camping trip?" Shiki was stern.

"I'm not really a fan of hearts." I rolled my eyes, tired of this argument, then smiled as I realized the perfect way to end it.

"Come on, Neku. You've got to give them at least _some_ cred-_Mmmph_!

She was interrupted by my rough kiss to her lips. I pulled back and she lightly scowled, angry that I'd interrupted her. Then she kissed me again. I hugged her and brought her closer to me. _I love arguing._

_Meanwhile…_

Rhyme watched as Eri took her third picture of the day. "Wow, you're really making use of lost time, aren't you?"

Eri grinned. "I try."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAnd that's it. Also, I found a perfect pin combination of pins for a good finisher that knocks enemies back. Use Vulcan uppercut (I forget what the pin's name is), then use Tigre Punks's Lightning Anger, the spinny slash thingy right after the first attack connects. The lightning anger pin will knock all enemies back and do a lot of damage. Anyway, R&R, people!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hey guys!!! REALLY sorry I took so long but there's this girl that I like and she's finally seeming to notice me and I've been really busy!!! This is the last chapter. I'll be creating another one, I'm not certain about the name, maybe something like, "Living in Death", or something extremely deep like that. Joshua will send Neku and Shiki into another game, but his one will be a lot more… ecchi… kind of as a reward to Neku for going though Hell 4 times the amount of weeks as normal people… I hope you like it!

P.S. Sorry the first rendition of this was so lame!!! Oh god, it was like midnight so I didn't have too clear of an idea where I was going, I just wanted to finish it. I'm going to give it a decent ending at least.

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_Approximately one year later, at Neku and Shiki's 1 year anniversary..._

"A _scrapbook???_" I literally gaped as I took the present from Beat, Rhyme, and Eri, who were all grinning like freakin' Chesire cats. So what if Shiki and I had been a couple for a year. So what if we had already confessed love to each other a long time ago? This was _insane!!!_

_"_Oh, come on, Neku! Be a good sport and at least accept it." Rhyme, innicent-looking as ever, smiled at me.

I scowled. "You are a freaking witch, you know that, Rhyme?"

"Neku, come on. I think it's kind of cute." Shiki, in all her glory, was standing next to me. As with every time I had looked at her for the last year, I was amazed that a girl like her would go out with a guy like me. She had grown out her brown hair so it reached down to her shoulders, and had recently gotten a lot taller, and had grown a lot more in... places.

I turned to her, about to argue, but she intercepted me by a quick peck to the lips. I knew the argument was over, and I grunted, trying to compose myself again. "Yeah. Sure. It's Okay."

Shiki giggled and kissed me again, on the cheek. "I'm glad we understand each other."

I cleared my throat and shot a quick glance at the others, who suddenly picked up on the subtle signal.

"Awright, guys! How 'bout we go get some curry, and you guys meet us there, aight?" Beat was hungry for curry as usual.

Eri sighed. "All right, but hurry up, you two."

"Okay, I'll see you later, guys!" Rhyme ran out the door, with Beat and Eri at her sides.

I took the moment to sit down on Shiki's couch, and she soon followed. We opened the scrapbook. I gasped.

"Holy mother..." I was too surprised to finish my sentence.

Put in the scrapbook was everything Shiki and I had done together, most with commentary.

I saw us sleeping together, and I realized, we did look like a couple, even back then.

Eventually, Shiki got over her embarrassment, and started to point out pictures that she liked. "Remember this, Neku?"

"Of course I do." I remembered every moment I had with Shiki.

At the end of the book was Rhyme's final surprise. A picture of the two of us kissing on the rooftop exactly three hundred sixty-five days ago.

I dropped the book and looked at Shiki, who I could tell had the same impulse as I did.

She pushed me down to the couch and I pulled her down with me, and our lips crashed together right after our bodies, with Shiki's hands wringing my hair as she angled my head to kiss me deeper. I returned the favor as I inserted my tongue into her mouth, recieving a moan that made my kiss all the more hungry. We kissed for a long time, locked in a tight embrace as our kisses got less and less hungry. We eventually stopped and just stared at each other's eyes, and I knew that Mr. Hanekoma was right. It _was_ a wonderful world.

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That's it… Sorry I was blowing u off guys, but this fic is over, don't expect the new fic to be out for a loooooooong while. Later!!!

Oh Yeah!!! If you guys want ecchi comedy, watch To Love-ru, one of the best anime I've ever seen. It's great. watch it. The potato commands you.


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